THE WAITERS’ MOM

Short List
TitleTHE WAITERS’ MOM
BrandFOOD PASSION
Product / ServiceBAR-B-Q PLAZA
CategoryA03. Online: Fiction & Non-Fiction
EntrantGREYnJ UNITED Bangkok, THAILAND
Idea Creation GREYnJ UNITED Bangkok, THAILAND
Media L&R MEDIA Bangkok, THAILAND
Production PHENOMENA Bangkok, THAILAND
Production 2 CINE DIGITAL SOUND Bangkok, THAILAND
Contributing FOOD PASSION Bangkok, THAILAND

Credits

Name Company Position
Ali Shabaz GREY GROUP SEA Chief Creative Officer
Per Pedersen GREY GLOBAL Chairman Global Creative Council
Jureeporn Thaidumrong GREYnJ United Chief Creative Officer
Andrew Chu GREYnJ United Executive Creative Director
Matthana Saetiaw GREYnJ United Art Director
Arnon Kantawang GREYnJ United Art Director
Suradech Prapairat GREYnJ United Art Director
Worrawan Chailert GREYnJ United Copywriter
Wuttinun Nakprom GREYnJ United Copywriter
Subbaraju Alluri GREY GROUP Chief Executive Officer
Kanaporn Hutcheson GREYnJ United Managing Director
Konthamas Ratanasuvan GREYnJ United Client Service Director
Pojanee Sowantip GREYnJ United Account Director
Kodchakorn Walaphon GREYnJ United Account Executive
Nattabhat Jumpathong GREYnJ United Account Executive
Chalinee Songsroi GREYnJ United Social Media Specialist
Prapapan Lekda GREYnJ United Social Media Specialist
Jongkoch Dusittanakarin GREYnJ United Strategic Planner
Kanoksak Kanchanachutha GREYnJ United Agency Producer
Pat Deesawat GREYnJ United Copywriter

The Campaign

A month before Mother's Day, we selected the most hardworking employees and handpicked those who had left their family home to work in the City. We gave them a questionnaire about their moms, disguising the exercise as a personal development training to improve our service on Mother’s Day. A few days later, we surprised them by bringing their moms from upcountry to enjoy a meal together. The staff had the chance to personally hand their questionnaires to their moms, thus making the most of the moment. All the real emotions were candidly captured during the unrehearsed and unscripted stunt, and later edited into a heartwarming and captivating film.

Creative Execution

Weeks before Mother’s Day, the film was shown at an all-staff event before announcing that every employee will be granted two extra days off so that they can spend quality time with their mother. The film was then shared with Bar-B-Q Plaza’s fans on social media channels and was also broadcasted on YouTube for the world to see. The content soon turned into culture as it spread like wild fire on the internet – gaining over a million views within 24 hours and catching the attention of local and international news.

‘The Waiters’ Mom’ not only rapidly reached over 5 million viewers in a short time, but it touched a whole country as it was voted best Mother’s Day video by real consumers. With over a million views within 24 hours, the film was ranked #1 most viewed video in the world by Campaign UK Weekly Viral Chart, #1 most popular video on YouTube Thailand, and has been ranked in the Top 5 Best YouTube video 2015 in Thailand. It not only became headlines of local and international news, gaining 25million baht worth of free media, but also contributed to a record of 27% sales increase during Mother’s Day period. Most importantly, all 3,800 employees were given 2 extra days off for them to have a long enough holiday to spend quality time with their moms. A gesture that inspired the hospitality industry to put their employees first.

An unconventional film that connected and touched its audience, resulting to being voted best Mother’s Day video in Thailand by real consumers. The emotional clip captivated every viewer, by engaging them with simple questions about their mother, but mainly because of its unscripted and real approach – no actors, no scripts, and no directing. As an outcome, it was #1 Campaign UK weekly viral chart, #1 most viewed YouTube video Thailand, became part of popular culture in Asia and was talked about in international news.

The questions were strategically written to connect with the staff filling out the questionnaire, but also with every viewer of the film. They were simple, yet insightful, and could relate to people on a very personal level. Rather than going for a traditional scripted approach, we used real employees and real families in an unrehearsed stunt. Keeping it real allowed genuine emotions and feelings to be expressed, thus truly touching our audience. And instead of following the latest trend in film-making, we avoided any fancy camera tricks and special effects to let the power of the content catch people’s heart.

Links

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